I had the privilege of going to Jen & Ari Pardalis' wedding this weekend at Swan-e-set country club. I didn't know either of them, my husband had worked with Jen years ago, but as soon as I met them, I adored them. They are such warm and endearing people. It was the first Greek wedding I have ever attended. I absolutely loved it. The sense of family and tradition were so apparent throughout. The Greek music and dancing was spectacular. There were even some dance-offs between young and old. I loved watching the dance they do around shot glasses (pictured above) - it is incredible to see. They dance until they are able to crouch down and pick up the shot glasses with their mouths- men and women, young and old participated. I was also so impressed by all of their incredibly well-thought out details at the wedding. There was a candy station with goody bags that you could fill up to take with you. There were flip-flops for the women to dance in when their feet got too tired from their heels. There was a photo station for guests to take group photos, complete with props if they so choose. The women's washroom had every emergency supply you could think of, including gum, tide pens, hairspray and deodorant. The buffet had dishes for lovers of chicken, fish, beef or vegetarians. The open bar made any drink you wanted - even my standing order for Shirley Temples. It was just an incredibly well thought out wedding. At night, after dessert was done, they even cooked french fries for late night snackers.
My favourite part was Ari's speech. It moved me to tears. It was a love letter to his family and Jen. As the youngest of his large family, Ari spoke about how his sister took him everywhere when he was growing up. She looked out for him and mothered him as if he were her child. He told her children that they are so lucky to have her because she truly shines as a mother. I loved how Ari spoke about meeting Jen and how he couldn't wait for his family to meet her because he knew how incredibly special she was. They even played the video of when he proposed. It was a wonderful event that I was so thrilled to be a part of.
